Justin Morneau and the Pittsburgh Pirates may not play another home game this year. / Charles LeClaire, USA TODAY Sports

by Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports

by Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports

DENVER - The Boston Red Sox are in town at Coors Field this final week of the season, leaving behind the soap operas of years past.

There will no Red Sox managerial firings for the first time in three years. The Food Network isn't here to report on whether Popeye's or KFC is the chicken of choice during games. The malcontents have left the building.

The Red Sox have already clinched the AL East. They can relax, set their playoff rotation, and ponder these dramatic storylines for the season's final week, mercifully developing elsewhere:

1. Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein knew his team would stink once again this year. He knows they'll stink again next year, too. The target date is 2015 for the Cubs to throw around their weight, empty their wallets, and go for the gusto in the National League Central.

And there is one alluring free agent out there to help him pull it off.

Say hello to Joe Girardi, manager of the New York Yankees, who doesn't have a contract after this season.

Epstein was quite candid last week when he refused to assure that manager Dale Sveum would return in 2014, and if Girardi wants to return home, or Mike Scioscia is fired in Los Angeles, there may be a warm seat waiting.

Now, one year later, it no longer is considered an impulse move to make a rash of firings, but a necessity. This front office is more dysfunctional than Congress. And this time, those in the organization are convinced that Dan Jennings will be the new GM, and Beinfest and former son-in-law David Samson will be out the door.

While Angels owner Arte Moreno might wonder if it's time for a new voice in the clubhouse, that old voice has the Angels playing inspired ball for the first time this season. The Angels are 14-7 this month, and despite losing Albert Pujols, are 32-30 since the All-Star break. If this continues another week, baseball's odd couple be back together again in 2014.

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4. The fix is on, or it certainly should be on. Remember all of the complaints last year by agent Scott Boras that the free agent market is grossly flawed, with players like Kyle Lohse and Michael Bourn devalued because it would cost first-round picks to sign them?

Well, the teams that finish with the worst 10 records in baseball are exempt from coughing up a first-round pick should they sign a major free agent, and have a decided advantage over their peers.

So keep a close eye this week on the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres, all separated by a game for the final two spots in the Bottom 10.

If you want your team to acquire a big-time free agent and retain a valuable first-round pick, you only have one choice: Share the sentiments of your team's front office, and root hard for your team to tank it.

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5. Not even Nate Silver could have foreseen the Seattle Mariners somehow finishing with a worse record this year than a year ago, even with the 105-loss Houston Astros entering the division.

But the Mariners have already lost 88 games, one more than last season, and there will be changes. Manager Eric Wedge likely will be gone. It's unknown whether GM Jack Zduriencik will join him.

Yet, if these jobs become open, someone has a chance to look pretty, pretty, pretty good. The Mariners should be the 2013 Royals next season, and a bona fide contender in 2015.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are having a magical season, ending their 20-year losing drought, and on the verge of clinching their first playoff berth since 1992.

Yet, it's possible they played their last home game of the season Sunday. They play all week on the road, and if the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds finish with better records, the Pirates will be forced to play a one-game playoff on the road next week. If they lose, they won't play at PNC Park until next year.

Something is horribly wrong with that picture.

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7. The Washington Nationals, the most underachieving team in the National League, need a new manager with Davey Johnson retiring. This is a team talented enough to immediately win a championship, and they need a no-nonsense guy to command the clubhouse.

The odds-on favorite has been Arizona Diamondbacks third-base coach Matt Williams. The logical choice is in-house candidate Randy Knorr, who certainly deserves a shot to prove his value. Charlie Manuel is available. And if Ron Gardenhire is fired in Minnesota, as expected, and Girardi becomes available, GM Mike Rizzo has to take a good, hard look.

This will be the most attractive managerial opening since Joe Torre walked away from the Yankees in 2007.

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8. Come on, you didn't think we forgot about Alex Rodriguez, did you?

The guy has been a choir boy the last month, and the name-calling and accusations have come to a grinding halt.

And, oh yeah, the guy may not be worth $28 million, but Rodriguez certainly proved he can play.